Debris that could be part of the Cheeki Rafiki yacht belonging to a missing crew, including a man from Farnham, has been spotted in the Atlantic Ocean.

A plank and a piece of foam was seen in the northern part of the search area by a volunteer crew and it is hoped, if it is found to be from the yacht, it could lead to the crew of four British men, missing for almost a week, being found.

The families of the crew members continue to wait anxiously for news about their loved ones, following a press conference on Wednesday night in Boston, Massachusetts.

Patrick Michel, skipper of the crew which found the debris, said: "We are currently just in the north part of the search area, our third night out here, and we did see during this night a few little (pieces of) debris which I have reported to the US Coast Guard with the times and positions, so there is a little bit of light at the end of the tunnel."

At the press conference in Boston, Captain Anthony Popiel, from the US coastguard, said there had not yet been any sign of the men since the search operation covering 9,000 square miles was resumed on Tuesday following public outcry, but pledged that search teams would continue to hunt as if "looking for a member of our own family".

Eight searches have now been carried out, but no life raft, people in the water, sail boat or debris has been sighted.

"We are saturating a very large and very remote area of the Atlantic Ocean," said Captain Popiel. "Unfortunately, we have had no sightings so far today.

"No decisions have been made regarding suspension of this search. Our focus is on continuing search planning."

Experienced captain Andrew Bridge, 22, from Farnham, and crew members James Male, 23, from Southampton, Steve Warren, 52, from Bridgwater, Somerset, and Paul Goslin, 56, from West Camel, Somerset - have not been seen or heard from since the early hours of Friday morning.

A cargo vessel which was helping with the search spotted and photographed an overturned hull which matched the description of the Cheeki Rafiki on Saturday but reported no signs of people on board or a liferaft.

The view from a cargo ship of what is believed to be the upturned Cheeki Rafiki (Image: Maersk Line/Universal News And Sport (Europe))

Aircraft from the US, Canada and the RAF have joined the latest searches.

Defence Secretary Philip Hammond said: "We all hope that the extensive resources being provided by our allies and the further support from the UK can help locate the missing yachtsmen as soon as possible."